Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

76
CHAPTER 5 . WHERE TO STAY
housing a large aquarium) and the other public areas really do make this seem
more like an actual resort hotel than just a Vegas version of one. You don’t have
to walk through the casino to get to any of these public areas or the guest-room
elevators, the pool area is spiffy, and the whole complex is marginally less confusing
and certainly less overwhelming than some of the neighboring behemoths.
We wouldn’t say it really evokes colonial Southeast Asia—oh, maybe around
the edges, if you squint, thanks to the odd bit of foliage or Balinese carving. This
may well keep out the gawkers, who are looking for bigger visual thrills, but we
find a place whose theme doesn’t bop you over the head refreshing.
Note that a new tower with 1,000 rooms is set to open sometime in 2004.
Good news, especially because the complex has also opened a huge convention
center, which is reported to be entirely booked for the upcoming year. If true,
rooms will likely cost more and be harder to get.
The rooms are among the most desirable on the Strip (king rooms are more
attractive than doubles), spacious and subdued in decor. Tropical influence
seems to be limited to faux leopard-skin chairs by the worktables, and plantation
shutter doors to closets and the bathroom (unfortunately, the bathroom’s
shutter doors seem to not entirely join together, leaving an open gap of varying
size). King beds have large, carved headboard posts and firm mattresses. The
bathrooms are the crowning glory, probably the best on the Strip; they’re downright
large, with impressive, slightly sunken tubs, glassed-in showers, double
sinks, and separate water closets, plus fab amenities and lots of them. (Bathrobes
are available on request.)
Service overall is pretty good, and those pool-area employees are the tops in
Vegas, though there were no security guards at the guest elevators. A monorail
system connects the hotel with Luxor and Excalibur, which are located in the
heart of the Strip action, and this should more than help you get over any feelings
of isolation.
The restaurants in Mandalay Bay feature some of the most innovative interiors
in Vegas, each one more whimsical and imaginative than the last. Even if you
don’t eat at the hotel, drop in and poke around the restaurants. Aureole, a
branch of Charlie Palmer’s renowned New York City restaurant, the Border
Grill, Red Square, and the buffet are reviewed in chapter 6. And then there’s
rumjungle, which features a dramatically skewered, all-you-can-eat, multicourse
Brazilian feast, which you’ll enjoy while listening to world-beat drums,
surrounded by walls of fire and water and other striking visual features. More
casual food can be found at the House of Blues, whose Southern delicacies are
often quite palate pleasing; HOB is probably the best place in town to see rock
bands. Mandalay Bay has a showroom and a separate arena, which was inaugurated
by none other than Luciano Pavarotti, and currently offers Mamma Mia,
the Broadway musical of ABBA songs. See chapter 10 for details on the hotel’s
major nightlife offerings. There’s also a big, comfortable casino, airier and less
claustrophobic than most, plus three bars, often featuring live music (including
rock impersonator acts) at night.
There are no fewer than four pools (entering this area is like going to a water
park, thanks to upgraded security—all guests, regardless of age, must show a
room key—and general size), including the touted wave pool, which is unfortunately
a classic example of Vegas bait-and-switch. It was supposed to feature
waves of various sizes, from “Barely There” to “Stun,” breaking on a sand-covered
beach. But it turned out that the waves couldn’t be turned on full force, as the
pool was too short and surfers went crashing into the concrete lip at the end. Still,